1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a positioning and actuating drive.
2. Description of Related Art
Positioning and actuating drives are used in different industries for adjusting and positioning movable parts with respect to one another. Applications of such positioning and actuating drives include, for example, input feed axes and format adjustment devices in printing presses and textile machinery, woodworking machinery, packaging machines, bakery equipment, wrapping and labeling machines, as well as handling devices and attachments upstream and downstream from these machines.
Such positioning and actuating drives typically have an electric motor, which often drives an output shaft via a gear box, the output shaft being responsible for the positioning and actuating effect. A position phase angle sensor is coupled to the output shaft and generates position feedback and, optionally, velocity and/or acceleration feedback. If a direct current (i.e., DC) motor is used, typically a motor phase angle sensor is used to determine the rotor position of the motor for commutating and energizing the motor windings. The electric motor, the gearbox, and the phase angle sensor make the positioning and actuating drive occupy a large amount of space.
Thus there exists a problem in the art with the size of positioning and actuating drives. It would be desirable to provide a compact positioning and actuating drive in order to decrease the required volume, and thus increase the opportunity for incorporating or installing the positioning and actuating drive.